#bethegeneration

#bethegeneration – HIV testing

Along with the OraQuick HIV Rapid Antibody test, The Center also offers the UCSD Early Test, Monday through Friday from 9am to 8pm (last appt. at 7pm), and Saturday from 10am to 3pm. The Early Test is a specialized viral load test that can detect acute (very early stage) HIV infection as soon as one week after potential exposure. HCV (Hepatitis C) Rapid Antibody testing is also available every day. For more information, call 619.692.2077 x101 or visit events.thecentersd.org/BTG.

#bethegeneration – Reasons to Take Action

In 2014, The San Diego LGBT Community Center launched the groundbreaking #bethegeneration campaign as an aggressive and strategic effort to end new HIV transmissions in San Diego in the next ten years.

The #bethegeneration campaign was prompted by the most clear and compelling medical evidence to date, which indicated that PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) medications can be extremely effective in preventing HIV transmission.

This game-changing information offers us a much-needed new opportunity to stop HIV as an epidemic — and we must act on it.

The reality is that there are still 50,000 new HIV infections every year in the United States. Too many of those infections disproportionally impact the LGBT community.

We can change this!

When both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization reported that use of PrEP and PEP medications can decrease a person’s HIV risk by up to 92 percent, we knew it was time for new and bold action.

While we studied the new medical information, we explored all the ways our HIV prevention efforts could be enhanced. Consequently, we came to the conclusion that with the determination and commitment of our community, we can #bethegeneration that ends HIV as an epidemic.

And this campaign became a reality.

#bethegeneration – The Campaign

The primary goal of the #bethegeneration campaign is to reduce the number of new cases of HIV in San Diego to zero by 2024.